Consumers have a variety of options relating to telephone systems. While many users maintain traditional hardwired telephone lines, cellular telephones have become nearly ubiquitous and alternatives to traditional landlines (for example, Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)) are becoming increasingly popular.
The enlarged role of computer technology in telephones has also increased the capability and flexibility of telecommunications today. Some telephone lines are serviced exclusively using an internet connection. Many mobile devices are data-capable, and can send and receive a variety of content utilizing multiple protocols such as Short Message Service or an Internet connection. By incorporating this technology, cellular and digital phone services have in many respects surpassed the functionality of conventional landlines.
Despite these developments, traditional landlines still realize some advantages over more modern telephone systems. One such advantage relates to Caller Identification, which displays the caller's telephone number to a user receiving a call. In addition to the dialer's telephone number, traditional landline systems can also display the Calling Name, or a textual title for the number originating the call. This requires a service provider to provide this information, often from a proprietary database of telephone numbers and corresponding names. Even where such resources are available, some administrators or users can block information relating to a number, or information beyond the number itself can be unavailable at the time of a call. Moreover, where an operator of a cellular device or VOIP phone originates communication, further information about the target party can be useful and could aid the operator in remembering the nature of a communication (for example, in a call log) when no further information was actively stored.